The Newcomers Guide To Twitter Part 9: Using Twitter For Business Marketing #New2Twitter

The Newcomers Guide To Twitter is a ten-part series of introductory lessons, tips and suggestions for people using Twitter for the first time. Please share these articles with your friends, family, colleagues and anyone you know who is struggling to “get Twitter”.

While most of what you’ve learned so far is absolutely applicable to marketing a brand on Twitter, there are other skills you will need to implement to maximise audience engagement and growth on the micro-blogging social network, helping you to raise awareness of products and services, drive website football, generate leads and boost sales.

Here are 10 tips for anyone looking to market their business on Twitter.

1. Your Brand Username On Twitter Is Very Important

It needs to be pretty much close to perfect. Chances are if you’re signing up for Twitter today the brand username you want is unavailable, so you’ll need to work hard to find the best possible alternative.

2. Do It Yourself (But If You Can’t, Make Sure It’s Done Properly)

Ideally, your Twitter presence should always be managed in-house, by either yourself or employees that you can empower to make the right decisions on your behalf. There’s nothing wrong with outsourcing the management of your Twitter presence, certainly when you’re getting started and need a pro to help you learn the ropes, but doing this doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay attention. Make sure you keep on top of passwords and everything that is going on with your Twitter account – it is representing your brand, after all.

3. The Path To Success On Twitter Is A Marathon, Not A Sprint

Heck, sometimes it’s an ultra marathon. Unless you’re a household name, building a relevant and engaged Twitter network takes time. Twitter is free, but you have to prepare for the long haul. Overnight successes are very rare, and ROI, even amongst the best, is relatively slight. Keep putting one tweet in front of the other.

4. You Cannot “Buy” Followers

Buying followers does not work. Ever. Twitter trains, ‘systems’ and the like are all complete garbage, without exception. What does work is promoting your Twitter profile using Twitter’s ad’s platform and it’s Promoted Accounts feature, but that comes at a cost. If you can afford it, it’s absolutely worthwhile, and an effective way to expedite your presence on the network.

5. Complaints On Any Social Network Are Inevitable

And this is very true of Twitter. Trust me: they will happen. There’s something about a tweet that encourages folks to have their say. So, one, remember that Twitter is a public network, and, two, it’s your job to always respond to and address complaints. Tip: move the conversation immediately to direct message, and then email. This keeps it away from prying eyes, allowing you to provide first-class customer support discreetly.

6. Do Not Feed The Trolls

Equally, some people are just a colossal PITA and will never be happy, no matter what you do or how far you go to accommodate them. These people are trolls. Learn to recognise the signs, and never, ever feed them. You cannot win.

Proactively monitor your Twitter replies and direct messages. If someone has taken the time to ask your brand a question, give them the courtesy of a response. Always reply promptly and politely.

9. If You’re Going To Use Twitter, Use Twitter

Don’t make announcements on your Facebook Page and simply use Twitter to link up to them. Or flood-feed everything you do on Facebook and every other social network into your Twitter profile automatically. Twitter isn’t Facebook, nor does it want to be. Give it the respect it deserves.

This post is part of The Newcomers Guide To Twitter, a ten-part series of introductory lessons, tips and suggestions for people using Twitter for the first time or thinking about signing up for a profile. Click here to see the other posts in this series (and if you’re just getting started, here’s part one), and please hit the comments to share your own Twitter tips.